Agos, Istanbul
Feb 2 2010

`The religion category should be removed from ID cards’

02 Å?ubat 2010

A Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) parliamentarian from Tunceli,
Å?erafettin Halis, has submitted a bill to abolish the religion
category on identification cards as well as the related article of the
Registry Office Law.

In his bill, Halis asked for the abolition of paragraph 7/1(e) of the
Registry Office Law 5490, which came into force on April 24, 2006.
That law, according to the bill’s preamble, requires that `The
individual’s religion must be written on his identification card.’
This is in spite of the fact that article 24 of the Constitution
guarantees that `Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and belief. Nobody can be forced to attend acts of worship,
religious services or ceremonies, or to reveal his religious belief or
conviction.’ The preamble also argues that as the current law forces
individuals to reveal their religious belief and conviction, it
violates freedom of thought, conscience and belief. The following
explanations also appeared in the preamble:

`The requirement to have a religion category on identification cards
not only violates the Constitution but also violates many treaties,
such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Turkey has signed. The
characteristics of Turkey’s political structure, the existence of the
Presidency of Religious Affairs, and the properties of institutions
and their staff, make it obvious that the Sunni Islamic character of
the state is dominant. This is in spite of the fact that Article 2 of
the Constitution stipulates that `The Republic of Turkey is a
democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law.’
Given these circumstances, it is inconvenient for individuals with
different religious beliefs and convictions in our country to expose
themselves, to carry out acts of worship freely and to self-define as
well as self-position themselves. In particular the Alevi community in
Turkey, which defines and would like to define itself as only `Alevi,’
as well as adherents of other religious groups and beliefs, are facing
actions contrary to the law. This violates both the Turkish
Constitution and international treaties that Turkey has signed.
Abolishing paragraph 7/1(e) of law 5490 is necessary for a democratic,
secular and social state governed by the rule of law.’